Optical diffraction from Ge2Sb2Te5 fishnet metasurfaces

We report the creation of Ge2Sb2Te5 metasurfaces on sapphire substrates by the ablation method and the study of their structural properties by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical diffraction. The main emphasis is on the optical technique, which boils down to obtaining bright Laue diffraction patterns on a screen, observing them with the naked eye, and analyzing the fine structure of diffraction reflections. It has been demonstrated that in one simple optical experiment it is possible to assess the quality of fabricated metasurfaces, determine the structure symmetry, and, moreover, determine the number of structural elements and lattice constants of the micron-sized metasurface. The accuracy of the optical technique is confirmed by comparison with the results of studies by SEM and AFM methods.

Automated summary

The study reports the creation and examination of Ge2Sb2Te5 metasurfaces on sapphire substrates using the ablation method and optical diffraction, showing the capability of optical technique in assessing metasurface quality, determining structural symmetry, and identifying structural elements and lattice constants. The accuracy of the optical technique is confirmed through comparison with SEM and AFM methods.